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HBCU Football: 10 of the best players of all time

By Dante Pryor

Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair (9) scrambles out of the pocket during the game against the Jaguars at Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville Dec. 22, 2002. The Titans defeated their AFC South foe 28-10.021222 B
Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair (9) scrambles out of the pocket during the game against the Jaguars at Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville Dec. 22, 2002. The Titans defeated their AFC South foe 28-10.021222 B /
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PITTSBURGH – NOVEMBER 6: Cornerback Mel Blount #47 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football after picking up a loose ball during a game against the San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium on November 6, 1983, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH – NOVEMBER 6: Cornerback Mel Blount #47 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football after picking up a loose ball during a game against the San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium on November 6, 1983, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

4. Mel Blount, DB, Southern

NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount is a fantastic rags to riches story. His early life was in rural poverty on a farm in Georgia. After a standout career at Lyons High School, Blount would play both safety and cornerback at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La.

During Blount’s career at Southern, he was an All-American. Blount was selected in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970 NFL Draft when they scouted HBCUs heavily. Blount played with fellow HBCU alums L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) and Ernie Holmes (Texas Southern).

Blount was known for his physical style. However, Blount was a fluid athlete who could run with the fastest receivers of his era as well and drop and play his zone. Though Blount is known for being a hitter, the Georgia-native ended his career with 52 interceptions.

Blount had at least one interception every season of his career, leading the league with 11 interceptions in 1975. Blount was so physical the league would change the rules to help wide receivers.

He was part of all four Super Bowls the Steelers won in the 1970s. Blount would win defensive player of the year in 1975 and was a six-time All-Pro. Blount would be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

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